Surda is located 3.7 kilometers (2.3 mi) north of
Ramallah. It is bordered by
Al-Bireh and
Dura al-Qar' to the east,
Jifna to the north,
Abu Qash to the west, and
Ramallah and Al Bireh to the south.[2] Surda is 838 meters above sea level.
In 1517, the village was included in the
Ottoman empire with the rest of
Palestine, and in the 1596
tax-records it appeared as Surda, located in the Nahiya of Quds of the Liwa of
Al-Quds. The population was 10 households, all
Muslim. They paid a fixed tax rate of 33,3% on agricultural products, such as wheat, barley, olive trees, vineyards, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,660
akçe.[5] Pottery sherds from the early Ottoman era have also been fond here.[4]
In 1838, it was noted as the village Surada, in the Beni Harith district.[6]
An Ottoman village list of about 1870 indicated 13 houses and a population of 63, though the population count included men, only.[7][8]
In 1882, the
PEF's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) described Surdah as: "A small village on a hillside, with a garden to the south of it, and the spring 'Ain Jelazun on the east."[9]
In 1896 the population of Surda was estimated to be about 108 persons.[10]
In the
1945 statistics the population of Surda was 250 Muslims,[13] while the total land area was 3,726
dunams, according to an official land and population survey.[14] Of this, 1,002 dunums were used for plantations and irrigable land, 1,244 for cereals,[15] while 20 dunams were classified as built-up areas.[16]
^Conder and Kitchener, 1882, SWP II, p.
295. They further noted: "The name suggests its identity with Zereda, the native town of
Jeroboam, (
1 Kings 11:26)", but based on archeological evidence, Finkelstein et al, 1997, p. 424 thinks this is irrelevant.